New Munster Bog Island State Natural Area contains a small hill, or knoll, surrounded by shrub-carr and tamaracks in southern Kenosha County. I found the DNR prescribed access to be fairly straightforward. From a State Wildlife Area parking area on the north side of 75th St, a rudimentary path leads to Palmer Creek. I recall…
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Kieper Creek (305/687)
Kieper Creek includes a variety of natural communities in northwestern Florence County, sandwiched between the two previous blog posts, directly east of Lauterman Lake and just west Fox Maple Woods. A few possible access routes exist for this site. FR 2154 forms a joint border between Lauterman Lake and Kieper Creek SNA’s. Lauterman Creek crosses beneath…
Lauterman Lake (304/687)
Lauterman Lake encompasses rolling terrain, a mesic hardwood forest, lakes, creeks, and a braided esker system in northern Florence County. The site can be reached via parking areas on Brule River Road (FR 2154) to the east of the namesake lake and FR 2553 to the west; both are just south of STH 70. Note…
Fox Maple Woods (303/687)
Fox Maple Woods contains a block of northern mesic forest and sedge meadow in northwestern Florence County. STH 70 bisects the property, though the vast majority and more interesting portions lie north of the highway. A parking area provides easy access to the forest. A faint trail leads northwest from the parking area, but I…
Lawrence Creek, SNA #70 (156/675)
Lawrence Creek’s focal point is, wait for it, Lawrence Creek. Several other natural communities are present including mixed forest, sedge meadow, and degraded land slated for restoration to prairie. The natural area is divided into two parcels, one each in Adams and Marquette Counties. Several parking areas are scattered around the periphery of the Lawrence…
Holland Sand Prairie (98/674)
Holland Sand Prairie features, of course, a sand prairie that was once part of a massive sand terrace above the Mississippi River. Now, Holland Sand Prairie is the only sizable remnant. The site can be accessed from CTH Mh (McHugh Road). A parking area and information kiosk are present. Informal trails lead throughout the site….
Ableman’s Gorge, SNA #75 (5/674)
Rising 200 feet above the Baraboo River, Ableman’s Gorge is a 3/4 mile long gorge cut through quartzite. It contains world-famous erosional impacts of an ancient sea on the Precambrian quartzite and has been well-studied by geologists, especially at UW-Madison, over the years. My visit here predates the installation of a trail and therefore it…
SNA Mapping
The DNR used to provide a tool on their website known as the SNA Map Viewer. It would provide a simple boundary of each SNA overlayed on a satellite image. Exact GPS coordinates of SNA boundaries, parking areas, or points of interest could be obtained by clicking on the map. When I started my SNA…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 